Tom Ford’s Wednesday night show is only his second in New York. The first, at Ford’s Madison Avenue boutique, launched women’s on an all-star cast – think Beyonce, Marisa Berenson, Liya Kebede, Rita Wilson, Daphne Guinness, and more.
The Austin, Texas native studied at New York University and Parsons School of Design.
Ford started his fashion career with CFDA Member Cathy Hardwick, followed by a stint at Perry Ellis.
He frequented Studio 54, laying an aesthetic foundation for fashions that were often sexy and slinky, and almost always disco-ready.
Dawn Mello brought Ford to Gucci in Milan, where he eventually succeeded CFDA Member Richard Lambertson and, in tandem with Domenico de Sole, transformed the luxury brand into the biggest fashion success story of the 1990s.
Ford was also creative director of Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, where his first collection nodded to Saint Laurent muse Betty Catroux.
Also an acclaimed film director and producer through his company Fade to Black, Ford’s first flick, A Single Man, received much acclaim, including a Best Actor Oscar nomination for Colin Firth, who starred alongside Julianne Moore and Matthew Goode. His second film, Nocturnal Animals, just premiered at the Venice Film Festival and stars Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Armie Hammer.
Ford has won a total of seven Trovas at the CFDA Fashion Awards: Menswear Designer of the Year (2015, 2008), Womenswear Designer of the Year (2001), Accessory Designer of the Year (2002), Board of Director’s Tribute (2004), International Designer of the Year (1995), and the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award (2014).
Ford bridges the gap between fashion, movies and music like few other designers. Jay-Z devoted a whole song to him, because, as he puts it, “I don’t pop molly, I rock Tom Ford.”
Ford is married to Richard Buckley, and the couple have a son, Alexander John Jack Buckley Ford, who will turn 4 on Sept.23. Happy Birthday!
